In fact, Lin Wei's reminder was entirely unnecessary worry.
"Heave~ho!"
Pardo cautiously took a few steps forward, then simply waved her hand a few times in the air. A pitch-black vortex slowly appeared with her movements, expanded, and solidified at the end of Lin Wei's line of sight.
"Phew... Alright!"
Pardo wiped away her cold sweat. Like a frightened kitten, she whooshed behind Lin Wei, tightly gripping his back and cautiously poking her head out to look around. After confirming she hadn't met with any accidents and hadn't disturbed any existences that shouldn't be disturbed, she finally let out a long sigh of relief.
"Alright, Boss Lin Wei, mission complete! If there's nothing else... I'll just... head back now?"
She was genuinely afraid that if she stayed here any longer, a certain terrifyingly gentle woman might thoughtfully come to inquire after her well-being, and that would be disastrous!
"I don't have Boss Lin Wei's abilities or courage. It's best to leave this troublesome place as soon as possible..."
Pardo muttered to herself, cheering herself on with thoughts of her wonderful life.
"I still need to go back to my little den and have another good sleep. I haven't fed Can today either. If it can't find me, it'll go crazy, right?"
"Mm, it's fine now. You can go back."
Seeing Pardo was indeed unharmed and eager to leave, Lin Wei suppressed the Pandora he had been ready to activate at any moment.
"Thank you for your hard work, Pardo."
Today's events felt somewhat like an "undeserved disaster" for this harmless little cat girl.
"Heehee, a small matter, a small matter!"
Seeing Lin Wei had indeed relented, Pardo completely relaxed and said with a magnanimous laugh,
"If Boss Lin Wei needs anything else in the future, just give the order!"
After a few perfunctory pleasantries, she vanished in a flash, not intending to stay a second longer, not even waiting to hear if Lin Wei had anything else to say.
"This one..."
Lin Wei watched Pardo's retreating figure disappear, somewhat speechless. Then, he turned and walked alone towards his destination.
"If Sakura knew I was going to meet that person, she probably wouldn't agree, right?"
Lin Wei stood before the pitch-black vortex, roughly the height of two people, silently thinking about other things. Then, his expression unchanged, he stepped inside.
It's not the first time I've ventured into a dragon's den or a tiger's lair. What's there to hesitate about?
With one step, the idyllic scenery of gentle breezes, sunny days, birdsong, and fragrant flowers that had existed in his vision completely vanished. It was as if he had stepped into an endless abyss; all that met his eyes was darkness, and still more darkness.
Lin Wei cautiously monitored his body and consciousness, lest he nearly faint again as he had just now. But this time, it was surprisingly smooth, like an ordinary passage between areas; only this journey was exceptionally dark, exceptionally quiet, and exceptionally long.
Even the gentle, kind, motherly female voice Lin Wei had expected to hear beside his ears and in the lake of his heart never sounded, which made him feel a little surprised.
However, the moment Lin Wei noticed this fact, that female voice, so memorable after hearing it just once, sounded again beside his ear.
"Please do not misunderstand. It merely seemed that you did not wish to hear my presumptuous voice, so I could only remain silent."
The voice undoubtedly came from Aponia, as warm and gentle as a spring breeze caressing one's face.
"Regardless, traveler from afar, you are welcome here."
"..."
Lin Wei's eyes narrowed slightly. To have one's thoughts perceived from so far away—this kind of "greeting gift" was truly unpleasant. But he chose to suppress his feelings for the time being, not rushing to retort harshly, as that would make him seem too shallow.
But Aponia didn't speak a second time, simply falling silent again, as if her previous words were truly just to answer Lin Wei's "doubt."
Advancing in boundless and profound darkness easily blurs the concepts of space and time, making it easier to fall into the fear of the unknown, not knowing whether the next step will land on solid ground, a wall, or a bottomless abyss that would shatter one to pieces...
It was a reaction from biological instinct, almost impossible to suppress. Lin Wei felt his heartbeat unconsciously quicken while gently slowing his pace, letting the solid touch from under his feet, again and again, calm the anxiety that unconsciously began to rise in his heart.
Continuous advancement prevented Lin Wei from losing his direction. At the same time, he slowly counted the seconds in his mind, establishing at least a basic time scale for himself.
"One, two, three..."
When the numbers silently recited in his mind were about to break four digits, a faint glimmer of light finally appeared before Lin Wei, looking so conspicuous in this boundless darkness.
The next second, the light spread rapidly, dispelling some of the boundless darkness into the distance. Lin Wei's eyes could finally see something.
Under his feet was a wide road paved with white stone slabs, stretching forward into the endless darkness, making it impossible to see where the road's end lay.
Lin Wei couldn't help but look back. Perhaps because he had been walking for a long time, the road behind him was also endlessly long, stretching to the edge of darkness.
On both sides of the road were tall, white arching pillars. Almost every twenty steps forward, a pair of pillars was rooted in the equally white stone road, the other end reaching high into the "sky" as if supporting this dark world...
"In such profound darkness, this road and the pillars on both sides are as solemn and sacred as a holy temple—only in the Elysian Realm can one see such a wondrous world that is clearly contradictory yet perfectly integrated."
Lin Wei withdrew his upward gaze, sighing with emotion.
"Ah, your praise truly makes one feel ashamed. Regrettably, this is not some sacred temple, merely a prison used to confine sinners..."
Aponia's voice, like a sigh, sounded gently beside his ear again.
"There is no need to pause and marvel at such false things, distant traveler. Please come forward, let me see your face. I have waited for this day for a long, long time..."
"..."
Although Aponia's voice was as gentle and warm as ever, the information in her words made Lin Wei's hair stand on end, giving him a strange feeling of "walking into a trap."
"What's wrong? Why have you suddenly stopped?"
Aponia seemed to notice Lin Wei's hesitation and asked gently,
"Do you still have doubts about the road ahead?"
"..."
Whether it was his own psychological effect or a fact, Aponia's considerate words and voice sounding "timely" beside his ear again and again couldn't help but make Lin Wei feel an increasing sense of unease, of "being watched."
He shook his head, offering no reply, simply quickening his pace along this clear road.
Tap, tap, tap...
It was clearly an open corridor "suspended" in endless darkness, yet clear echoes sounded for every step Lin Wei took, as if he were truly walking in a holy cathedral.
"...This road of yours is really long!"
After an unknown amount of time, feeling he had already walked several kilometers, Lin Wei looked at the still endlessly long, sacred corridor ahead and finally couldn't help but speak.
"Aponia, is this the 'pilgrimage road' you've set for yourself?"
If this dark yet sacred "prison" was indeed an incredibly vast temple, then the end of this solemn road undoubtedly led to a lofty sacred icon—its half-closed, benevolent eyes watching every mortal who came to pray, from its feet all the way to the temple gates, just as It benevolently watched every mortal in the entire world.
"Aponia, do you truly believe, as you say, that you are a 'prisoner' who needs to be confined in the deepest darkness?"
Lin Wei couldn't help but seriously contemplate in his heart.
"In the entire Elysian Realm, even in the real world outside it, no one looks more like a 'god' than you!"
As the "chosen one" capable of seeing all the threads of fate, she indeed seemed to have this qualification—but only "seemed";
As a mere mortal, albeit a special one, could she bear such a heavy, tragic wish, such profound sin?
"Pilgrimage road? Why would you think that?"
Aponia's voice chuckled softly, like a mother hearing a child's innocent fantasy, gentle and kind, patiently correcting,
"The world's misunderstanding of me is already as insurmountable as a chasm. I am merely presenting it truthfully—as you can see, the distance between you and me is indeed so vast..."
"Heh, is that so? Hearing you say that, I instead feel it's even more like a 'pilgrimage road'!"
Lin Wei chuckled lightly, his calm tone carrying a hint of sarcasm.
"If it's truly as you say, then perhaps only those who can 'not misunderstand you' can 'cross' this 'chasm' and truly reach you!"
Even Monk Tang's journey to the West wasn't this demanding!
At least he had a "mileage indicator," albeit with a dauntingly large number, but still very clear. And Aponia...
"Or perhaps, only those you permit can reach you?"
Lin Wei stopped, questioning calmly. There was no need to be overly polite with such a mystifying character.
"Ah... If you truly insist on thinking so, then I indeed cannot refute it."
A trace of sorrowful sigh came from Aponia's voice.
"After all, I did indeed try to bring you directly before me, but you refused, insisting on personally embarking on such an endless, long road. Since you have already come this far, why harbor resentment?"
"..."
Lin Wei was speechless. You acted on your own, and now you blame me?
He also remembered: every time Raiden Mei met Aponia in this "Deep End," it was indeed after fainting and being brought directly before her, only symbolically walking a mere dozen steps.
Even Raven, who "stumbled in," was "guided" here because Aponia had mistaken her for someone else beforehand.
But even so, until Raven collapsed, she ultimately never saw the face hidden in the darkness, only a hand as white as jade, and the cross clutched in that beautiful palm, a cross she had imbued with some special meaning.
It seemed that those without qualification truly couldn't see her—at least, not in this "Deep End"...
"Aponia, in a sense, you are probably the most arrogant of all the Flame-Chasers in the Elysian Realm!"
Lin Wei thought with a cold sneer. This woman's obsession had reached an unreasonable level.
Of course, he also knew that his thoughts would be clearly perceived by her, just as she never seemed to think there was anything wrong with doing so.
"Ah, arrogance... What a profound sin this is..."
Aponia's voice grew even more sorrowful and compassionate.
"But even in a new era, can I still not escape such a fate?"
"..."
Lin Wei really wanted to say, if you don't change this self-righteous, holier-than-thou attitude, even after another fifty thousand, a hundred thousand years, you'll still walk the same old path.
"I just couldn't bear to see you embark on this long road, wishing to spare you this fatigue and hardship."
Aponia sighed sorrowfully.
"Since you insist on following the predetermined path, I can only cease to insist. I merely offer you my heartfelt blessings, for I know you will eventually reach me—it is just such a simple sentiment..."
"..."
Lin Wei was speechless again. Is your blessing manifested through surveillance and mind-reading?
You act on your own, and now you're playing the victim...
Psychic-type MANTISes are truly different!
Compared to you, Su is almost too adorable!
"Forget it, I'm quite self-willed myself..."
Lin Wei shrugged, not intending to engage in a pointless debate with her on this issue. Instead, he tilted his head slightly, looking at the pitch-black "dome," and asked,
"You said you know I can reach you, right?"
"Yes, I have long seen the threads of fate. Our paths will eventually converge here..."
Aponia's voice was like an angel's compassionate sigh.
"It's just..."
"There's no 'it's just' about it."
Lin Wei casually interrupted her lament. He then closed his eyes and pondered for a moment, his chest rising and falling slightly. A moment later, he opened his eyes and, as before, calmly stepped forward.
Only this time, in the originally endless corridor and darkness, a clearly visible prison, and the silhouette of a dignified woman sitting in its center, soon appeared.
"Do you know why I refused your 'kindness'?"
Lin Wei smiled faintly.
"Because I also believe that, by my own efforts, I can reach you just the same!"